Defence minister denies export claim

Duck Shot aka Tea Banh

Monday, 18 April 2011
Buth Reaksmey Kongkea
The Phnom Penh Post

Defence minister Tea Banh yesterday denied allegations from a lawyer for a Taiwanese mining company who claimed that a firm linked to a general in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces had exported copper through a naval port using military vessels.

A lawyer for Taiwan’s Hong Tung Resource Co Ltd announced plans last week to sue the Nim Meng Group for US$96 million for allegedly defrauding his clients and seizing imported mining equipment. RCAF Major General Nim Meng and his wife, Lay Sineang, served on the board of directors for the aborted joint-venture project between the two companies, and Lay Sineang is the director of Nim Meng Group.

Hong Tung and Nim Meng Group began working together in July of last year on a copper mining project in Siem Reap province’s Chi Kraeng district, formalising their partnership in January of this year under the name Nim Meng Sinohope Group Company, according to a draft copy of the Hong Tung complaint.

The Nim Meng Group abruptly terminated this partnership in February, the complaint alleges, adding that the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy subsequently transferred the licence for the concession from Nim Meng Sinohope Company, the joint venture, to Nim Meng Group.

Khmer Intelligence News - 21 March 2010

KHMER INTELLIGENCE NEWS

21 March 2010

Secret oil deal between Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra (2)

In early 2006 Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra concluded a secret oil deal to personally share “under the table” a portion of royalties to be paid by oil exploitation companies. Those companies had been exploring very promising offshore oil and gas deposits in the Gulf of Thailand, including in the overlapping zones claimed by both Cambodia and Thailand.

For revenue stemming from these overlapping zones, a tentative agreement has been reached whereby:

• Revenue from zones closest to Cambodia’s shores will be shared as follows: 70 percent to Cambodia; 30 percent to Thailand.
• Revenue from zones closest to Thailand’s shores: 70 percent to Thailand; 30 percent to Cambodia.

However, the two prime ministers mutually agreed to mislead their respective public opinions by accepting to “recognize” that some of the zones closest to Cambodia be instead considered as closest to Thailand, and vice versa.

Therefore, in the case of Cambodia, instead of receiving 70 percent, the country would receive only 30 percent of the royalties paid by the concerned oil companies, the remaining 40 percent would be split fifty-fifty between Hun Sen and Thaksin, meaning twenty percent each for the two leaders on a personal base.

The same sharing scheme would apply to the overlapping zones closest to Thailand, with Thaksin and Hun Sen also secretly receiving 20 percent each of the royalties.

Interrelation between secret oil agreement and Preah Vihear Temple issue (2)

In order to ensure a smooth implementation of the above-exposed secret oil agreement, Thaksin promised Hun Sen to let the Cambodian government deal, as it pleases, with the Preah Vihear Temple, including registering the Temple as a World Heritage site with UNESCO.

However, Thailand’s new governments following Thaksin’s fall from power in late 2006, decided they were not bound by the secret and personal deal between Thaksin and Hun Sen. Border incidents started in 2008 when Hun Sen tried to exacerbate Khmer nationalistic fervor a few weeks before the July general elections in Cambodia, prompting Thailand’s authorities to react by also asserting their own nationalistic stance.

Cambodian citizenship to protect and reassure “ex-foreign” investors (2)

Because Cambodia’s law does not allow foreigners to own land in our country, the Hun Sen government has granted Cambodian citizenship to countless investors (from China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan but also some European countries) who are willing to invest large amounts of money to buy land and engage in “development projects.” Among the most prominent “ex-foreign” investors is Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra from Thailand who was given Khmer citizenship in March 2009. Mr. Thaksin has reportedly bought large chunks of land in Cambodia’s maritime Koh Kong province bordering Thailand for economic, financial and possibly other reasons.

Army generals amass fortune from standoff with Thailand (2)

The ongoing military tension on the border between Cambodia and Thailand brings about a windfall for Army generals close to Prime Minister Hun Sen. Tens of millions of dollars have been collected every month by the corrupt military brass from systemic diversion of financial support officially intended for “soldiers fighting on the frontline to defend the Motherland.” The Generals are also collecting ghost soldiers’ salaries (about one third of the whole Army staff) while selling on the market food and equipment earmarked for the Army. Last but not least, illegal logging (deforestation) has resumed on a large scale since 2008 thanks to the security reasons invoked to justify the secrecy surrounding any military initiative and movement.

New evidence of border encroachment by Vietnam to be made public next week (2)

Cambodia is reportedly victim of border encroachment by her more powerful neighbours. Regarding recent incidents in the Eastern province of Svay Rieng bordering Vietnam, Sam Rainsy earlier this week announced a “good news” to King-Father Norodom Sihanouk who presided over the now-defunct Supreme National Council on Border Affairs. In his letter to the Retired King, the opposition leader said “top leading experts” he consulted in Europe, confirmed “the validity of what we all know and of what I recently denounced, namely the displacing of the border posts by Vietnam to the detriment of Cambodia.” Details of the technical reports by French and Swiss map experts are expected to be made public next week

Read Sam Rainsy’s original letter in French http://tinyurl.com/ydtv57l with translation in Khmer http://tinyurl.com/ybuvbym and in English http://tinyurl.com/yl6674u.

Towards a confrontation between Ieng Sary and Hor Namhong at the ECCC? (2)

Lawyers defending Ieng Sary at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) want Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong, who was chairman of a prisoners’ committee at the Boeng Trabek re-education camp under the Pol Pot regime, to be confronted with their client Ieng Sary who was Foreign Minister of Democratic Kampuchea from April 1975 to January 1979.

Ieng Sary was Hor Nam Hong’s boss. The pair went together to Lima in August 1975 when Hor Nam Hong was ambassador to Cuba before he was recalled to Phnom Penh in December 1975 (see Justin Corfield and Laura Summers’ “Historical Dictionary of Cambodia” published in the USA in 2003). At Boeng Trabek, Foreign Minister Ieng Sary continued to frequently communicate with his protégé Hor Nam Hong whom he “rehabilitated” in 1978. According to the defence at the ECCC, Hor Nam Hong “was privy to the operation of Ieng Sary’s Foreign Ministry in Phnom Penh and the treatment of intellectuals at the Boeng Trabek prison camp, where Mr Namhong was also a prisoner” (The Cambodia Daily, 17 March 2010).

The defence’s request follows Co-Investigating Judge Marcel Lemonde’s decision in October 2009 to summon Hor Nam Hong to testify before the ECCC. Hor Nam Hong refuses to appear before the Judge.

Hor Nam Hong will face opposition leader Sam Rainsy before a French court in Paris on 25 March 2010 following a defamation lawsuit filed by the former against the latter. Read Sam Rainsy’s open letter to Hor Nam Hong in French at http://tinyurl.com/yhcan48

[End]

Military Ranks Said Sold To 'Chinese, Taiwanese' To Raise Money for Army Chiefs

21 Dec 07
By Srei Ka
Moneakseka Khmer
Translated from Khmer and posted online

There is a ridiculous story emanating from the armed forces. It is about the sale of military ranks to make money for the chiefs to finance their electoral campaigns. We are not sure whether this story is a joke made up by some officers or it is a true story. But if it is true, it surely is a most sadly hilarious anecdote. However, even if it is not true it still sounds like it is, for at the end of this year [2007] there have been many promotion requests at the colonel and general levels.

An officer attached to the Defense Ministry said that some of the aspiring officers want a star but lack the supporting status; so, they ask for additional posts to be given concurring to their present positions, such as becoming advisers to a minister or a state secretary so that they can get a star. Others are already bearing a star but seek auxiliary duties even if they are posts without portfolio so that they can get another star. And those who already have two stars on their shoulders are also striving to have three stars.

This officer at the Defense Ministry said that if the four-star rank is not the topmost echelon in the armed forces reserved for the elite only, thereby inaccessible to most, many people would have scrambled to be given four golden stars, especially those who have a lot of money. This officer further said that the three-star rank, too, is not easy to get but there are quite a few three-star generals in the armed forces because the rich can buy three stars just by making themselves advisers to the leader. In particular, those with one star or two stars can be numbered by the metric tons. We say this because Hun Sen recently claimed in public that if we weigh the stars [on the generals' shoulders] we can have tons of them. However, the government does not have any measure to prevent this inflation of ranks.

The officer at the Defense Ministry pointed out that just in Brigade 70, of which according to the work structure or military cadre the commander must be only a one-star brigadier, there are already dozens of officers bearing stars. Although in the armed forces at present there are already thousands of generals, especially generals with one star or two stars, promotions are announced with no end in sight. There are promotions virtually every month.

Seeing this inflation of military ranks, some curious minds have asked for the reason behind the promotions. This question has been responded with some mockery that ranks are being sold to make money for the chiefs to finance their electoral campaigns.

In time of war the military ranks were accorded on combat merit. Any units that went to the battlefields and won successes and those who served the tasks of the fighting forces well were given promotions as encouragement. Therefore, in time of war the military ranks were promoted according to the merit, the feats, and the sacrifices of each combatant. Now, however, things are not the same. Ranks are awarded not because of merit or achievements but on how much money one can afford to pay. Some persons do not even know where the barracks is but they are seen bearing stars like other generals.

Many with stars nowadays are claimed by some officers as being of Chinese roots because their names are not purely of Khmer origin. This has caused some resentment among the veteran fighters who have to salute or kowtow to those big daddies and big brothers from Chinatown who have never been in a barracks before. This statement should not be construed as racial discrimination. We are talking about fairness to the veteran soldiers because many have been soldiers all their lives but have no money or high ranks and instead are being insulted.

Some officers said that it is tolerable to them for the Chinese living in Cambodia and are Cambodian citizens to pay for the military ranks. But what is unacceptable is that some factory owners who are mainland Chinese or Taiwanese but they, too, bear stars on their shoulders. This is too ridiculous.

Asked to explain the existence of high-ranking officers who never know their quarters, barracks, or units, the military personnel experts say that ranks are being sold to get money for financing the chiefs' electoral campaigns because the 2008 national elections are approaching. A number of army commanders have been going to the localities one after another. When they canvass they need money. If you do not sell the ranks, where can you get money for the chiefs?

The officer at the Defense Ministry said that a scrutiny of the list of the year-end promotions shows that there are many who will get promoted. Despite the monthly promotions, there has been no reduction or halt to them. This has made some foreign military observers claim that in 3 or 4 years to come Cambodia will no longer have foot soldiers. There will be only officers with stars commanding fellow officers with stars because the commanders and deputy commanders, as well as the bureau chiefs, all have the same number of stars. If the chiefs and the subordinates all have high ranks, then who will salute whom, who will obey whom?

The officer at the Defense Ministry said that there is no problem if there are too may big shots. What is the problem is that the personnel experts have said they are selling ranks to make money for the chiefs to finance their electoral campaigns. A star costs not in the thousands but in the tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, it sounds plausible when they talk about selling ranks to make money for financing the electoral campaigns.

We do not know whether Prime Minister Hun Sen is aware of this or not, but the officers at the Defense Ministry as well as the Armed Forces Supreme Command said that we should ask Tie Banh, minister of national defense, and Ke Kimyan, supreme commander of the armed forces, and we will know the answer unless they have not reported it to Hun Sen. However, whether Ke Kimyan and Tie Banh report this or not, Hun Sen must know about it because he is the one who signs the promotion requests to be submitted to the King. Therefore, Hun Sen must be well aware of what is happening.

The price of peace [: kleptocracy, massive corruption, impunity, human rights abuses, and repressive, undemocratic governance]

October 22, 2007
Simon Taylor
The Guardian (UK)

Today marks the anniversary of the 1991 Paris Peace Accords - the agreement which signalled the beginning of the end of decades of violent conflict in Cambodia and the start of the biggest and most costly peacekeeping operation in history. Yet 16 years later, the country once regarded as the international poster-boy for post-conflict nation building is fast becoming South-East Asia's newest kleptocracy; its reputation marred by allegations of massive corruption, impunity, human rights abuses, and repressive, undemocratic governance. The international community - whose money has bankrolled this shattered state's rehabilitation - has singularly failed to stop the rot. Lessons must be learned if other fragile, newly post-conflict states are to avoid a similarly disastrous outcome.

On paper, Cambodia's natural resources and state assets - the land, forests, minerals and heritage sites - were the basis for kickstarting the post-conflict economy. The revenue generated from this exercise should have gone towards poverty alleviation and rebuilding infrastructure. Instead, systematic and institutionalized corruption has deprived the entire population of the revenue that could have come from these public goods.

A cursory glance at today's Cambodian business sector reveals the country's forests, land, mining, ports, national buildings and casinos to be predominantly controlled by a handful of government-affiliated tycoons or family members of senior political figures. Information about these deals is not made available to the Cambodian people to whom the state's resources belong. Similarly, consultation with local populations dependent upon the country's forests or land for their livelihoods is often non-existent. For many Cambodians, the first they know of such deals is the sound of a chainsaw revving or a bulldozer arriving to flatten their crops.

Cambodia's forests are a case in point. In the 1990s they were described by the World Bank as the country's "most developmentally important resource". Today they are largely degraded, having been sold off over the years by the political elite to private companies or individuals intent on logging as much as possible to turn a quick buck. Most of the vast wealth generated from this logging has not reached the national coffers: instead it appears to have been siphoned off into the private bank accounts of the loggers and their political patrons.

While a booming textile and tourism industry has resulted in double-digit economic growth in recent years, the reality is that Cambodians are still among the world's poorest people and wealth inequality is increasing. With an estimated 35% of the population living below the poverty line, and the vast majority without electricity or mains water, survival remains a challenge for millions. Meanwhile, government-sanctioned forced evictions and land grabs are rife, human rights violations are common, corruption is endemic and impunity is the norm. Over the past five years, this has been accompanied by a backward-slide in space for civil society and political opposition to operate, resulting in a governance system recently described by the UN Rapporteur on Human Rights as "a shaky façade of democracy".

Cambodia's donors have provided the equivalent of over 50% of the government's annual budget for over a decade now. Having spent billions of dollars in setting up a democratic system in Cambodia, one would assume that its donors and their domestic tax payers have an interest in preserving it. Yet the international donor community has consistently failed to bring the government to book for blatant violations of its commitments to protect human rights, fight corruption, and ensure the protection of land and natural resources. In the 1990's, turning a blind eye to these actions was justified by the need to ensure 'stability'. From stability would flow economic development, and from economic development would flow political pluralism. The past 16 years have revealed the impotence of such logic. With each successive failure of the donor community to ask tough questions and deal realistically with the regime's failure to honour commitments to good governance, those responsible have increased their wealth and impunity. The end result is that Cambodians find it harder and harder to call their government to account.

It is not too late for the international community to redefine its terms of engagement with Cambodia, but it will require a fundamental shift in mindset. At its core must be a recognition that stripping a country of its assets for personal gain represents a mass violation of the social and economic rights of the country's people. Next, Cambodia's donors must impose sanctions on those individuals and their family members who they have good reason to believe are corruptly profiteering from the exploitation of the state's resources. These measures should include a freeze on all assets, restrictions on international travel and a ban on doing business with nationals of the donor country.

This will be a bitter pill to swallow for those donors who would prefer to enjoy an amicable relationship with the Cambodian government. Yet, if the international community cannot get it right in a small and relatively non-strategic country such as Cambodia, what hope for the likes of Sudan, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo? To continue to give overseas aid without the courage to tackle blatant mass corruption and poor governance is the equivalent of pouring good money after bad. Worse, it confers a badge of approval and reinforces the legitimacy of a government which is not acting in the interests of its own population. Cambodia and its people deserve better.

Hun Sen's confession: Army vehicles are rented to private businesses for illegal transportations

The general trio: Tea Banh (L), Sao Sokha (C) and Pol Saroeun (R)

Army Brigade 70 truck fully laden with [illegal] timber, Route 2, April 2005(Photo: Global Witness - Cambodia's Family Tree)

Small truck used by Army Brigade 70 to distribute [smuggled] goods within Phnom Penh (Photo: Global Witness - Cambodia's Family Tree)

Hun Sen orders the roundup of army vehicles rented to private businesses

Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Koh Santepheap newspaper
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered General Tea Banh, the vice-prime minister and minister of defense, General Pol Saroeun, and General Sao Sokha to immediately round up and bring back all army vehicles. Hun Sen’s order was issued during a meeting between the government and the private sector which took place at the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). Hun Sen issued this order after Oknha So Nguon requested that the government uses fairness in the transportation.

Hun Sen said that while the ministry of defense asked for budget for the transport of troops, the army vehicles are being rented out to transport private merchandises instead. Hun Sen revealed that more than $4 million were spent by wives of (government) leaders to visit troops and to bring miscellaneous helps to the troops. Hun Sen demanded that the leaders of the ministry of national defense review the cases of vehicles rented out for private transportations, should these vehicles belong to the army, they should be rounded up and returned back to the state because of the current lack of transportation means.

Hun Sen scolded army officers in the administration of vehicles for committing these mistakes, and he called them of not respecting the rules. Hun Sen warned that the soldiers are not standing above the head of the government, and that government soldiers are very easy to be removed from their positions. Hun Sen said that these cases not only affect those vehicles bearing the KM license plates (army vehicles), but they also affect vehicles bearing the NB license plates (police vehicles) as well. Hun Sen pushed the army to find 500 vehicles for him so he can distribute them to areas in need.

Hun Sen reminded that in 1989-90, there were 400 (surplus) vehicles in stock, and two years later, they were all distributed out. Hun Sen also said that the main problem caused by army vehicles is the fact that they transport merchandises over the weight limits, they can cause damages to roads, and no police officers dare stop them. Hun Sen also called all levels of the army to round up army vehicles and return them back to the army, they should no longer be rented out for transportation of private merchandise when the army is in need. The army civil engineering unit needs these vehicles to transport dirt for the construction of canals. Hun Sen requested that this action must be set in place immediately, and he also warned that (in Cambodia), there are tons of generals.

Hun Sen said that if army vehicles are indeed used for private transportation rental, this is a tragedy. He also said that private vehicles are backed up by army units, these units will be dealt with because the unit leaders do not respect the law. Hun Sen added that vehicles bearing the license plates KM or NB are found not to transport army materials, they must be stopped immediately because Cambodia needs vehicles for transporting dirt in the construction of canals, dikes, and roads.